Each year, thousands of people are killed or hurt by drunk drivers. Other people are injured or killed by drivers who are not technically “drunk,” but who have had one or more alcoholic beverages before driving. That’s why the National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states lower the allowable blood-alcohol concentration level to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent.

Drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration level of 0.05 percent are 38 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers who have not been drinking. Drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent are 169 percent more likely. Much of the industrialized world follows a .05 percent standard. Officials believe a stricter standard could reduce drinking and driving for both social drinkers and heavy drinkers.

Blood-alcohol concentration varies by a person’s body weight, gender, stomach contents, and other factors, however, the proposed limits would impact many people. People who normally drink three drinks over the course of an evening may be able to drink only two drinks and remain legal to drive under the proposed standard. For these reasons, many people are critical of the proposed change.

Now, about 30 percent of all vehicle fatalities occur in connection with drunken driving; when President Ronald Reagan raised the issue 30 years ago, approximately 50 percent of all vehicle fatalities occurred in connection with drunken driving. For more information about drunk driving accidents in Texas, contact Dallas drunk driving accident lawyer Amy Witherite and the Dallas accident lawyers at her firm Eberstein & Witherite, LLP. Call 214.378.6665.